Choices
by Akirafanatic
Summary: sequel to 'Notice Me'
1. Chapter 1

Niki frowned as she watched Haruichi yawn again, his head bobbing a little before the shorter teen jerked up. He'd been like this for the past week, and the dark haired female thought enough was enough. Yuta would cut back on Haruichi's photoshoots, or he wouldn't know what hit him.

By the time lunch started, Haruichi was fast asleep at his desk. "Should we wake him?" Kotarou asked, pulling out his lunch. He didn't want his friend to miss lunch, but he also knew if Haruichi fell asleep in class, he had to be exhausted.

"Yes," Niki said, "But first – what the hell are you doing?" Rounding on her oldest friend, she glared at Yuta. "I thought we agreed we _wouldn't_ work him too hard! You know he also has school and baseball to worry about!"

Holding up his hands, the brunette attempted to calm the enraged female. "Unless we all suddenly have different versions of the schedule, then you should be able to see that I've _already_ cut down his work as much as I dare. Any more and people will begin to think he's no longer working – which means no more jobs and eventually, all we've done this past year will have been for nothing."

Pulling out her phone, Niki checked the schedule to see that her friend was telling the truth. "Then would you care to explain _that_?" She jabbed her finger towards the oblivious teen.

"I don't _know_ Niki. And if I did, don't you think I'd do something about it?" Folding his arms over his chest, he gave her a cold stare. His voice was like ice when he said, "You're not the only one who cares about his wellbeing."

The lone female had the decency to flinch. "Sorry Yuta. I'm just worried, you know?"

"I know Niki," Taking off his glasses, the teen sighed.

"If you two are done with your little lovers quarrel," Kotarou grinned when the two flushed and looked away from each other, "I say we wake up sleeping beauty so he can actually eat his lunch." Skipping away before he could get punched or hit, the dark blond gently shook his friend's shoulder. "Haru, it's time for lunch."

Letting out a small groan, the pink haired teen slowly blinked open his eyes and squinted at the one who woke him. "What?"

Kotarou grinned at the whine. "Lunch time sleepy head. Come on, you have to eat something or else 'kaa-san and 'tou-san will get mad at you."

Haruichi couldn't help but laugh a little at the nicknames. Slowly standing up and groaning, he grabbed his lunch and shuffled his way over to his friends, hiding another yawn behind his hand. Plopping down in the offered seat, he lazily unwrapped his lunch and began eating.

"Are you alright?" Niki asked, reaching over and placing one hand against his forehead. "You don't have a fever."

"I'm just a little tired," Haruichi said, as though it weren't obvious.

"And why are you tired?" Yuta pressed. "Your schedule has pleanty of time for rest in it." Tilting his head down a little and staring at the shorter teen from over his glasses he asked, "You _are_ following the schedule I made for you, _right_?"

Nodding, the sleepy teen said, "I am. It's just been a little hard to fall asleep lately."

"Something bothering you?" Kotarou wondered. "Is there a reason you're having trouble sleeping?"

"No. I don't know, I just lie awake in bed, and before I know it, it's morning."

Yuta frowned. "I can get you something to help you sleep, but it'd only be a temporary solution." Folding his arms, he said, "I want you to come sleep in our room for a few nights. Maybe we can figure out why you're not sleeping."

Kotarou grinned and wrapped an arm around his shorter friend's shoulders. "It'll be fun! Sleepovers like back in elementary school! We'll stay up all night, play games, eat junk food, and sha-" He was cut off by a smack to the back of his head. "Ow~ What was that for Yu-chan?"

"That would defeat the entire purpose of him staying over. We _want_ him to sleep." Turning back to Haruichi, he said, "As it is, you should go get some rest in the nurses office. I'll let the teacher know you're not feeling well and we'll come get you before afternoon practice."

Finishing her lunch, Niki quickly put it away before latching onto Haruichi's arm. "I'll take him there!" Waiting for the pink haired teen to put away his things and grab his bag, she nearly dragged him from the room.

"Can we at least tell ghost stories?"

Yuta sighed and rubbed his temples.

Making their way to the nurse's office after classes let out, Kotarou sighed. "I hope we can figure out why he's not sleeping."

"And that we can fix it, or at least do something to help."

Nodding, Yuta paused outside the door to the nurse. "We'll deal with that when we get to it. For now, Niki and I will accompany Haru to practice. Kotarou, you go get his things from his room and bring them back to ours."

Saluting, Kotarou grinned and ran off to gather his friends belongings. "Are you sure that was a good idea?" Niki asked, a smile on her face.

"Better than us having to listen to any more of his 'awesome sleepover ideas'." Stopping the female from opening the door, Yuta said, "Niki. We're going with Haru to his practice, but I don't want to draw any extra attention to him or us. That means we _lay low_. Act like we're not interested in the practice, but still keep an eye on him."

"Why? It's not like we'll be distracting anyone if we just watch."

"Maybe so, but if it's too obvious we're watching Haru, then some of the others may pick up on it."

Niki's eyes widened a little in understanding. "And if they pick up on it, they may start asking questions, or realizing he isn't at every practice."

"Exactly. We agreed we'd keep his job under wraps here at school – for multiple reasons. We don't need the baseball team getting suspicious."

"Alright, fine. You do know there's a slim chance that would happen though, right?"

"But there _is_ a chance, and I don't want to risk it."

"Fine, fine. No cheering for Haru during practice." Huffing, she rolled her eyes. "Can we go wake him up now?"

Raising an eyebrow, the brunette stepped back and gestured to the door. "Be my guest."

Niki quietly entered the room and smiled at the sleeping teen. Pulling out her flip phone, she snapped a quick photo before shaking Haruichi's shoulder. "Haru-chan. It's time for practice Haru-chan."

Groaning, the pink haired teen slowly peeled his eyes open, letting out a long yawn and stretching his arms above his head. Blinking, he looked up at Niki. "Wha time 's it?"

"Time for practice," Niki smiled. "Unless you want to keep sleeping."

Shaking his head, Haruichi sat up with another yawn. "I'm fine." Swinging his legs off the side of the bed, he snagged his uniform jacket from the chair next to the bed and shrugged it on. Yuta handed him his shoes and waited for the shorter teen to slip them on.

When he was ready, he grabbed his bag and made his way out of the nurses office. "Where's Kotarou?"

"He's getting your things and bringing them to our room," Yuta answered, rapidly typing out a message on his phone.

Feeling his regular phone vibrate, he put away his work phone and pulled it out. Flipping it open, he read the message and groaned. "What's wrong?" Niki asked, leaning over the brunettes shoulder to read what was written.

"Your pitcher," He said, turning to Haruichi. "Kotarou just got into a big argument with him."

Haruichi felt a sense of dread. "Which one?"

"Sawamura-kun."

* * *

 **And you all thought I was done with this. Here's part 2! Let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

Kotarou whistled cheerfully as he let himself into Haruichi's room. His roommates weren't there, which was a good thing as now the dark blond teen didn't have to explain why he was packing up the second years belongings.

He found one of the pink haired teens duffle bags in the closet and began tossing some clothes into it. He made sure there was enough for a week, even though he doubted his shorter friend would be staying that long.

Digging through the drawers, he tossed in a couple pairs of underwear before searching for his bathroom things. It didn't take long for Kotarou to find everything needed, but he made sure to give the room a once over after he was done to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything.

Satisfied with his work, he zipped up the duffle bag and hefted it over his shoulder before leaving the room. Sadly, his leaving time wasn't planned well and just as he opened the door, another member of the baseball team was passing by.

The two stared at each other before Kotarou slowly turned, shut the door, and bolted off in the direction of the regular dorms. He ignored the shouting behind him, running as fast as he could – which sadly was not fast enough to outrun the baseball player.

"Why are you stealing Harucchi's stuff?!" Eijun yelled, reaching out and grabbing one end of the duffle in Kotarou's hand.

Being pulled to a stop, the dark blond gripped the bag with both hands, attempting to get it back. "I'm not stealing it you idiot! Haru's staying with me tonight! He told me to go ahead and get it for him!" Alright, so maybe that was Yuta, but the other teen didn't need to know that.

"I don't believe you!"

"I don't give a shit if you do or not! Let go!"

"No! Who are you?!"

"I'm in your class stupid!"

"I don't recognize you!"

"That's because you're an idiot! Now let go before you break it!"

"No! HARUCCHI! SOME WEIRD GUY IS STEALING YOUR STUFF!"

"HE'S NOT HERE STUPID! AND I TOLD YOU I'M NOT STEALING IT!"

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!"

"AND I SAID I DON'T CARE! I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!"

"Sawamura?"

"MIYUKI KAZUYA! THIS JERK IS TRYING TO STEAL HARUCCHI'S STUFF!"

"I AM NOT! WHAT PART OF THAT ARE YOU HAVING TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING?!"

"LIAR!"

Miyuki rubbed his temples, a tick forming on his eyebrow. "BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" Seeing he had the two staring at him – both still straining to take the duffle from the other – he sighed. Pointing to Kotarou, he asked, "Who are you?"

"Nishida Kotarou," The dark blond growled. "I'm in _this idiot's_ class, and Haru's friend."

"And why do you have his things?"

" _Like I just said_ , Haru is staying with me tonight, and asked me to grab his things."

Turning to the pitcher, the third year asked, "And why do you think he's lying?"

"Because he's not Harucchi's friend!" Kotarou's eyes narrowed. "I'm Harucchi's friend and he never mentioned _him_." Eijun let out a surprised squeak when the duffle was suddenly yanked from his hands. Before he could say anything, he was kicked in the stomach.

" _You're_ his friend? If that's true, what's his favorite color?"

Eijun clutched his stomach and glared at the other teen before looking triumphant. "Pink."

"Wrong. What's his favorite food?"

Frowning, the pitcher said, "Curry."

"Wrong. Name one hobby."

"Baseball!"

"Wrong. What's his favorite subject?"

"History!"

"Wrong! What's the color of his eyes?" Here the pitcher faulted. He'd never seen the pink haired teens' eyes. Kotarou crossed his arms above his chest and asked softly. "Where was he today?"

"In class," The pitcher said.

"Wrong. He was in the nurses office." Looking disgusted, he shook his head. "How can you call yourself his _friend_ if you didn't even know he wasn't in class?" Eijun looked devastated.

Miyuki frowned. "If you're his friend, then I suppose _you_ know the answers to all the questions you asked?"

"Dark blue. Cream Stew. Video Games. Modern National Languages. Pink, but depending on his emotions they're different shades. And, even though I doubt you _care_ , he was in the nurses office today because he hasn't been sleeping well and fell asleep during class."

Turning on his heel, Kotarou began stalking away. He paused before he got too far, turning back to the two players behind him – his eyes focusing on Eijun. "Quit pretending you're Haru's friend."

When he was almost to the regular dorms, Kotarou sighed and pulled out his phone. "Yu-chan's not going to be happy." Tapping out a quick message to his friend, he went to put the duffle in their shared room.

Miyuki watched the second year stalk off before turned back to the upset pitcher. "Come on," He said, grasping Eijun's wrist and pulling him away, "Practice is starting." He was slightly unnerved by the silence as they walked the rest of the way to the practice field.

It was only when the two were within sight of it that Eijun asked softly, "Am I a bad friend?"

Now, Miyuki could lie and save the pitchers feelings, or he could be honest and come off looking like as asshole – which people assumed he was anyway, and he'd rather not have his lie coming back to haunt him later, so he went with the truth. "Yes." Eijun flinched, but Miyuki wasn't done. "You're so wrapped up in baseball that you don't notice other people's feelings. You tend to ignore anything besides the sport. You just assume people love it as much as you do and can't even imagine them liking or doing anything else."

The pitcher was staring at the ground, the beginning of tears gathering in his eyes. Rubbing a hand on the back of his neck, the captain added, "You're also loud, obnoxious, and disrespectful to your seniors. But despite all that, you're actually a pretty good pitcher. You're so motivated, it leaks out to the rest of the team, firing them up too."

Seeing his words were having no effect, he sighed. "Look, that guy back there was an asshole. He doesn't understand. We all know you were never pretending to be Kominato-kun's friend. You may not have been the best friend in the world, but you were – are – his friend." He got a nod, but the second year was still upset about it.

Rolling his eyes, Miyuki pointed to the bullpen. "Go warm up while I get on my gear and I'll catch for you for a bit." He got another nod before Eijun walked over to start his stretches. Sighing heavily, he glanced around for the pink haired teen. Spotting him doing his own warmups away from the others already practicing, he headed over.

"Kominato-kun," He waited for the second year to look up, "I want you to come stand in the batter's box when Sawamura is pitching."

"Now?"

Glancing over at the bullpen, he said, "Ten minutes. I want to let him warm up a bit." Turning, he called back, "Bring your bat with you." He didn't wait to see if the shorter teen understood, simply making his way back over where he'd left Eijun.

Waiting for him to finish his stretching, he said, "You've got five minutes to warm up. After that you're going to practice pitching against an actual batter." Seeing the nod, he headed back to his usual spot and crouched down. "Let's see what ya got." Frowning at the pitch, he threw it back harder than necessary. "Don't give me half assed pitches!"

He watched Eijun take a deep breath and close his eyes – probably get what happened out of his mind – before pitching again. "Better, but you're still not giving me your all!"

"You don't deserve my all!" Eijun shouted. It wasn't as loud as usual, but it was better than nothing. By the time the five minutes were up, Eijun seemed to have regained at least a bit of his usual energy.

Miyuki almost felt bad about ruining it again. _Almost_. He knew that the two second years needed to work out whatever problem was between them – even if it was just on Eijun's end. Grasping the pitcher's right wrist, he dragged him to the practice diamond. He ignored the way Eijun froze when he saw just _who_ the batter Miyuki had chosen was.

Depositing the near petrified pitcher onto the mound, he whispered, "I swear if you give me any half assed pitches like earlier, I will _personally_ see to it that you don't get to play in any of our upcoming games."

Eijun paled and nodded so fast the catcher nearly thought he'd get whiplash. Grinning, he made his way to the other second year. Crouching down, he said, "Go ahead and actually try to hit the pitches. Treat it like batting practice." The pink haired teen nodded, settling into his normal stance and waiting for the pitch.

After the third pitch was hit, the captain realized it probably wasn't the best idea to have the short second year – who was already mostly used to Eijun's pitches by now – be the batter. However, even if this bruised the loud pitcher's ego, it would hopefully get the two talking. Well, get Eijun talking and hopefully back to normal.

Five pitches hit later, and Miyuki was starting to think he should call this off. The only thing it was accomplishing was pissing Eijun off. The catcher wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. "GOD DAMNIT! STOP HITTING MY PITCHES!"

Both the captain and the batter jumped in surprise at the sudden shout. "B-But Miyuki-senpai told me I was _supposed_ to hit them." Ah, maybe Miyuki should have told him to only hit _some_ of the pitches. Oh well.

Looking up, the catcher grinned at the glare he was receiving. He was surprised when Eijun pointed not at him, but at the pink haired teen and yelled, "FINE! I'M GOING TO LEARN AN AWESOME NEW PITCH AND THEN YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO HIT EVEN ONE OF MY PITCHES!" Stomping up to the two, the pitcher grasped Miyuki's arm and started towing him away. "MIYUKI KAZUYA THIS IS YOUR FAULT SO YOU'RE GOING TO TEACH ME A NEW PITCH SO I CAN GET HARUCCHI OUT!"

Sighing in relief that Eijun seemed back to normal, Miyuki smiled a little when he heard the other second year call out, "I'll look forward to it Eijun-kun!"


	3. Chapter 3

Kotarou shrunk under the combined glares of his two friends. "I-I'm sorry!" He wailed, slamming his hands together and bowing. "I didn't mean to! I-I just…He said I wasn't Haru's friend, but he was! I just got really angry!"

Niki frowned, but stopped glaring at her friend. She probably would have done the same thing. Yuta sighed and asked, "What _exactly_ did you say to him?"

Flushing, Kotarou answered, "I, um, asked him some questions about Haru – which he got all wrong by the way – and then, I _might have,_ um, _maybe_ , told him to, uh, stop pretending to, um, be Haru's friend?"

"And this was _just_ between you and Sawamura-kun?"

" _Weeeeellll~_ "

"KOTAROU!"

"The glasses wearing guy might have been there too!" the dirty blond stated quickly, covering his head with his hands. "That one! Him!" He jabbed a finger in the direction of the bullpen, where Sawamura was pitching.

"Damnit Ko-chan," Niki growled, "That's the _captain_ of the team!"

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"I don't know," Yuta said flatly, "Maybe from the fact it was announced at every game we've been to so far this year? Or from the fact Haru _told_ us?"

"Ko-chan, if they find out about the job, I'm blaming you."

"What if they do find out?" Kotarou asked, a frown forming. "It's not like they can do anything."

"Other than bring it up to the principal," Yuta countered. "Which could have one of a few things happen. First, he –all of us actually – could be suspended or even expelled. Students aren't allowed to have jobs. If not that, he could be kicked off the baseball team. Or he could stay on the baseball if he quits his job. And lastly, which would happen no matter what, they wouldn't treat him the same."

"I thought he wanted that. You know, for them to notice him and everything."

"Yes, but not in that way. He just wants them to _take notice_ of him – not just realize he's there when he's playing. If they find out about the job, they'll _treat_ him differently. How, I don't know. But I do know that Haru wouldn't like it."

"This would be a lot easier if he just quit baseball."

"Kotarou!" The second year flinched when Niki used his whole name. He hesitantly looked up at his friend, gulping when he saw the furious look she wore. "You know as well as we do that Haru-chan loves baseball! He wouldn't quit just because it'd be _easier_! Asking him to quit baseball is like asking him to…to…to give up desserts!"

"Not the way I would have said it, but she's right Kotarou. Haru can't just give up baseball. He may not be as much of a baseball freak as Sawamura-kun, but he still has great love for it."

"I know that damn it! I was just saying-"

"Just saying now could lead to _just saying_ it to Haru-chan!" Niki all but screamed. "And _just saying_ it to him would make him feel bad and put even _more_ stress on his shoulders! He'd feel guilty about playing and may _actually_ quit just because it'd be _easier_ on _you!_ "

Kotarou recoiled as though she'd slapped him. Straightening in anger, he glared at his friends. "I _know_ it was a stupid suggestion, _alright_?! I _know_ it wouldn't happen! _Damn it_ , don't you have _any_ faith in me?! Do you _really_ think I'd be that _stupid_ to bring it up to him?! I've _seen_ how much he loves baseball! We've _all_ seen how much he loves it! You two are acting like I'm an idiot who doesn't care about what Haru wants!"

"An idiot, maybe. But Niki and I know you care."

"Then why do you both just _assume_ I'd _willingly_ put Haru in a hard spot? Why do you both seem so _sure_ that I'd force him to make a decision like that?!" Turning, he stomped away as he growled, "If you two can't tell by now that I'd never do anything like that to Haru, I don't know why I still _bother_ to hang around you. You _obviously_ don't give a shit about anything I say."

"Ko-chan! Wait!" Yuta grabbed her arm and shook his head.

"Let him go Niki. He needs to cool off for a bit."

"But Yuta!"

"Going after him now won't do anything. We all need to cool off and calm down before we try and talk about it. Give him a day or two, then we can try talking to him."

Niki felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Damn it. We're supposed to be friends – a family! That's what we told Haru-chan, that we'd always look out for one another because we're a family."

"Families can fight," Yuta said softly, wiping away her tears, "That doesn't mean they don't love each other."

"Then what does it mean?"

"That they care about each other enough to get upset over things like this. Come on, practice is over. We should get Haru."

"Do we tell him about Ko-chan?"

"He's part of this family, right? He deserves to know what's going on." Niki nodded, sniffling and scrubbing her eyes. Waiting for the baseball players to empty out of the field, they flagged down Haruichi when they spotted the short second year.

"Are you alright Niki?" He asked, seeing her slightly puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks.

The female shook her head. "Ko-chan and I had a fight."

"What was it about?"

Hesitating, she looked toward Yuta who shrugged. "I…He was…joking about something, and I got mad and yelled at him. I…wouldn't listen to what he was saying, and he got mad and stormed off."

Haruichi frowned as how she avoided looking at him. "What was he joking about?"

Niki felt fresh tears falling and shook her head. Yuta decided to take over for her. "Do you remember how he texted me he got into an argument with Sawamura-kun?" Haruichi nodded. "Their argument was about you. Sawamura-kun accused Kotarou of not being your friend, which made him angry, so he in turn accused Sawamura-kun of not being your friend and then told him to, and I quote, 'quit pretending to be his friend', or something along those lines."

The pink haired teen seemed upset, but didn't say anything, gesturing Yuta to continue. "Niki and I got upset, and yelled at him for being stupid. Then Kotarou joked you should quit baseball because it would make everything easier. That's when Niki went off on him and he stormed off, accusing us of not caring what he said and thinking he didn't care about you."

Biting his lip, the short second year reached up and grasped his left arm with his right hard enough for his knuckles to turn white. Niki saw this and glared at his through her tears. Slamming her hands on his shoulders, she said, "This is _not_ your fault. We were all just a little stressed out. Don't you _dare_ blame yourself for this." Turning his head down and to the left, Haruichi nodded slightly.

Shaking his head, Yuta wrapped an arm around each of them. "Come on," He whispered, "Let's get some sleep." He guided them away from the field and towards the dorms. He wondered briefly if Kotarou would even be there, but shook it from his thoughts. If he didn't come to them tomorrow, they'd go find him. They were a family, and family meant nobody got left behind.


	4. Chapter 4

Haruichi hadn't been able to sleep that night either, and this time for a completely different reason. He couldn't stop thinking about how his friends were fighting because of him. No matter what Niki said, he was the reason they were fighting.

He was putting stress on them every day just because he was selfish and didn't want to give up baseball. Yuta had to work around not only school, but also his practice and game schedule. Niki sometimes had to go out hunting for last minute supplies because there were some jobs scheduled last minute or rescheduled because of a baseball thing.

Kotarou had to keep worrying about him getting hurt and how to hide that if needed. He also had to give updates with the latest fashion or ideas for styles to his mother, sometimes staying up all night to help her come up with something suitable for him to wear.

And here he was, just letting them handle everything and sometimes making their work harder. All because he was selfish. This wasn't the first time he'd had these thoughts. They'd been plaguing him a lot more recently – being one of the reasons he was missing out on sleep.

And then there were his teammates. He didn't want to disappoint them, sure, but he also enjoyed playing with them. He didn't want to stop, but he also felt it'd be better for everyone if he quit now. He was so confused, unsure of what he should be doing.

His parents, while supportive, couldn't help him. They just told him to do what he wanted, no matter what it was. He didn't want to ask his older brother, since Ryousuke might be biased towards baseball, but also because he didn't want to bother _another_ person with these problems. The older Kominato had enough to worry about with university work. Studying to become a doctor was no easy feat.

If he quit his job, then he wouldn't be able to keep paying for the phones he'd gotten everyone – which helped his family keep in contact, and his parents adored. It would also force his father into going back to work, as Haruichi had nearly forced him to retire after he ended up in the hospital over winter break.

But if he quit baseball, not only would he miss out on helping the team get to Koshien the next two years, he'd also not get to play with his teammates anymore. And Eijun-kun would probably be hurt by it.

He didn't want to hurt the pitchers feelings, as he knew the other teen would probably start thinking it was his fault – especially after the argument he'd had with Kotarou. Sighing, he looked up and jumped when he saw Eijun standing right in front of him.

Falling backwards, he dropped his bat and flailed his arms in an attempt to keep his balance. Landing on his butt, he winched slightly at the pain. "Ow."

"Are you alright Harucchi?" Taking the offered hand, the pink haired teen gratefully accepted the help up, brushing himself off when he was righted.

"I-I'm alright. You scared me Eijun-kun." Picking his bat up again, he blinked in surprise when he didn't see anyone else around. "Where is everyone?"

"Harucchi, practice ended an hour ago."

"It did?" He must have been too lost in thought to notice.

"Harucchi…" Looking up, he frowned at the worried look on the pitcher's face. "Is something wrong?"

Biting his lip, he wondered if he should tell him. He couldn't exactly bring it up to Niki, who would blame herself for him thinking like that – after she smacked him for thinking it in the first place – or Kotarou, who would get mad at himself and then Niki for even telling him, or Yuta who would just try to comfort him before denying being under any stress.

Wanting to talk to someone about it, but not wanting to burden them with his problems, Haruichi just smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing Eijun-kun."

The pitcher looked hurt, and Haruichi felt horrible. "I know I'm not a very good friend, but you can tell me anything Harucchi."

Scuffing his toe in the dirt a little, the pink haired teen looked out at all the scattered baseballs he'd used. "Help me clean up first?" He asked. He didn't want to hurt the taller teen by refusing, but he also didn't know how to tell him without telling him about his job. At least cleaning up would give him some time to think about his answer.

The smile he got from Eijun was worth it. The two quickly set to work putting away all the baseballs and the ball machine. When they finally shut the door to the storage shed, Haruichi opened his mouth to start, but was cut off by the pitcher.

"Let's get cleaned up and eat some dinner first, I'm starving!" Hearing his stomach growl in agreement, the shorter teen nodded with a grateful smile.

It was nice, to eat with his friend again. Eijun had a way of making everything seem alright, even if he wasn't doing or saying anything relevant to what you were worrying about. And for the first time in a long time, he was happy to just listen to his friend talk, going on and on about something that had happened that day.

After they bathed - with Haruichi borrowing Eijun's supplies - and filled their stomachs, the two made their way out to a small hill overlooking the baseball diamond. Haruichi laid on his back and folded his hands under his head, gazing up at the stars. He used to love stargazing when he was younger. His parents would make up funny constellations and stories about certain stars, and make him and his older brother laugh until the whole family was nearly in tears from it.

There were a lot of things he missed doing.

"Harucchi?" Shaking his head at the soft voice, he turned and smiled at his friend.

"Sorry, I was just remembering how my parents used to make up constellations when we were younger." Laughing a little at some of the more ridiculous stories, he told himself he needed to bring Niki, Kotarou, and Yuta out stargazing later.

Remembering his friends, the smile dropped off his face, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. Eijun pushed himself up onto one arm and stared at his friend. "What's wrong?"

Sitting up and pulling his legs to his chest, he said, "Two of my friends – Niki and Kotarou – are fighting because of me."

Pushing himself up, Eijun scooted closer to his friend and wrapped an arm around the smaller teen. "Why?"

Kotarou was the one you argued with yesterday," Eijun frowned a little at the reminder, "And Niki got mad at him because of it. She said he wasn't thinking about how I felt when he said those things to you, and he accused her of not caring what he thought or felt before saying she didn't think he cared about me and then storming off."

Eijun pulled back a little. "That sounds like it's my fault they're fighting."

Haruichi quickly shook his head. "No, it's not your fault Eijun-kun! The only reason you two argued was because of me, which caused him and Niki to argue – also because of me. It's my fault everyone's fighting."

"That's not true Harucchi." Eijun hugged his friend. "It's not true."

"Yes it is Eijun-kun. I'm the reason you fought with Kotarou in the first place."

"No, it's not. I got mad at him because I thought he was stealing your stuff. We fought because I didn't listen to him. It's my fault Harucchi, not yours." The smaller teen shook his head, but didn't say anything. Placing his head on the pink hair, Eijun wondered if he could do anything to make the smaller teen believe him.

The two sat in silence for a while before Haruichi said, "I'm sorry Eijun-kun."

"For what?"

"For what Kotarou said to you." Pulling back, he looked up at the pitcher. "I know you were never pretending to be my friend."

Shaking his head, Eijun looked guilty. "I'm sorry I didn't pay attention to you. I was so focused on baseball I didn't realize I wasn't being a good friend."

Smiling at the brunette, Haruichi said, "You _are_ a good friend Eijun-kun." Smiling back, the two pulled completely apart and laid back down.

It was quiet for a while before the pitcher remembered something. "Harucchi," He got a tired hum in response. "How come you're having trouble sleeping?"

Staring up at the sky, Haruichi wondered how he should answer. He knew it would upset his friend no matter what, but he also felt he owed it to Eijun to let him know. Raising one hand to the sky, he whispered, "I'm thinking about quitting baseball."

* * *

 **And now you know, if you hadn't already figured it out, the reasoning behind the title! What do you think will happen? Let me know what you thought!**


	5. Chapter 5

Eijun was shocked. He wanted to jump up and scream about how they needed Haruichi on the team – how _he_ needed his friend on the team. The second baseman kept him grounded at times, and made him want to get better at pitching – even if it was just to strike him out.

He wanted to yell and bed and plead for his friend to stay. He wanted to do all that and more, but he didn't. The way his friend had said it told Eijun just how difficult the thought was. He knew his small friend loved baseball, and everyone knew he was good at it. For Haruichi to want to quit, something had to have happened.

Eijun wondered how long he'd been thinking about this. Rolling onto his side to face the pink haired teen, he asked – his voice slightly strangled, "Why?"

He didn't want to be selfish. He'd ignored his friend for a long time, and hadn't even realized something was wrong until someone else spelled it out for him. He wanted to be a good friend, who would listen to his problems and help him – even if the outcome was something he didn't like. He wanted to help Haruichi feel better.

The answer was a while in coming, but finally Haruichi shrugged and said, "I love baseball, but…it's just…I'm not having as much fun as I used to. I've never minded how hard the practices were, or that I never got to play, because I was having fun. Now though…I don't know. It's like…It's like something's changed. I can't explain it, but suddenly I'm not enjoying myself, even during the games."

Eijun was quiet as he listened to the explanation. He didn't really understand, as baseball had always been fun for him. Even when he didn't get to pitch, or was teased by the rest of the members, or had to deal with _Miyuki_ , he was always having fun. Sure, it was hard sometimes, and when they didn't win it was upsetting, but it was still fun.

"Sometimes I think that, the only reason I was having fun playing was because of my brother." Haruichi started to run his fingers through the grass, pulling put a few every now and then. "Maybe some part of me only wanted to play so I could play with him."

The pitcher shook his head. "I don't think that's true Harucchi." He watched his friend look over questioningly. "Last year you always looked like you were having so much fun. Even when your brother wasn't around, you seemed to enjoy playing. Maybe that's why you _started_ baseball, or why you came to this school, but I don't think that's why you aren't enjoying it anymore." Seeing his friend frown, he asked, "Did you still have fun playing even after he came here and wasn't around?"

Haruichi hesitated for a little bit before nodding. "I…I guess so."

"See? Then there has to be some other reason you're not having fun anymore." Seeing the uncertainty on the smaller teens' face, Eijun asked, "When did you start thinking about quitting?"

There was a pause as Haruichi thought about that. Eijun didn't mind waiting, and turned back to look at the stars. You couldn't see as many here as you could back home, but it was still nice and relaxing. He'd never been one to just lay around and look at the bright spots in the sky, always wanting to be up and moving, but at the moment he was content.

Well, as content as he could be when one of his best friends was talking about quitting baseball.

Fidgeting the longer he had to wait, the pitcher turned back to the pink haired teen. "Harucchi?" Not getting an answer, he pushed himself up and nudged his friend a little. Still not getting an answer, he smiled slightly – his friend had fallen asleep.

A little curious, he brushed back some the bangs over Haruichi's eyes, stifling his laughter when the shorter teens' nose scrunched up a little. Standing up, he brushed the grass off his clothes and bent down, carefully picking up the smaller teen.

He slowly maneuvered Haruichi – freezing when his friend moved – onto his back and slipped the pink haired teens' arms over his shoulders before placing his hands under Haruichi's knees. Standing back up, he began making his way back to the dorms, attempting to be quiet – not only because his friend was asleep, but also because if he woke up Kuramochi-senpai, he'd be his senpai's guanine pig for new wrestling moves. _Again._

He tiptoed into Haruichi's room, gently setting the shorter teen down and tossing the blanket over him. Creeping over to the desk, he found a pencil and a blank sheet of paper, quickly writing out a short note for his friend.

 _'We can finish talking later if you want – just come and find me! –Eijun'_

Folding it, he set it next to his friend before creeping back out of the room, slowly closing the door. Going back to his own room, he laid down and faced the wall. Harucchi wanted to quit baseball. Eijun hadn't noticed his friend hadn't been having fun while playing. He just assumed that everyone played because they enjoyed it.

He knew for a fact the shorter teen had been having fun when they'd both started last year, so what had changed? Eijun doubted it had to do with his older brother. The older Kominato had graduated with the other seniors last year, and while Harucchi – along with everyone else – had been sad to see them go, they all kept playing their hardest.

No, Eijun didn't think Ryousuke was involved. Thinking back, he tried to remember if his friend had seemed different when playing or practicing this past year. Haruichi hadn't _seemed_ any different, but to Eijun's dismay, he couldn't actually remember what the pink haired teen was like at practice. Other than today, he focused on his own training and hadn't paid any attention to anyone else's.

"What do you _mean_ **_you lost him_**?! How the _hell_ do you _lose_ someone?!"

Kotarou was fuming, glaring at the two in front of him. Niki looked highly upset, and Yuta was pacing around the room, Haruichi's phone clutched in his hand. Rounding on the youngest teen, he seethed, "He was _supposed_ to be back by now! He _promised_ that he'd come back after practice ended!"

"We checked the practice fields," Niki said, her bottom lip quivering in worry. "Nobody was there." Sitting on the bed, she wrapped her arms around herself. "This is all my fault, isn't it? If I had just _listened_ to you, we wouldn't have fought and Haru-chan wouldn't be so upset."

"What if he left?" Kotarou asked, clenching and unclenching his fist. "What if he went home?"

"He would have taken his phone," Yuta tried reasoning.

"Not if he wanted to get away from _us_. He _knows_ you can track his phones."

"Should we call his parents?" Niki asked.

"No, they'd be asleep by now."

"I don't give a shit! Haru is _missing_ , and you don't seem to _care_ enough to make _one_ phone call!"

Yuta rounded on his friend. " _I_ don't care? Who's the one who _started_ this whole mess in the first place?!"

"Don't you _dare_ pin this one on me! Everything would have been _fine_ , if _Niki_ -"

" _This is not Niki's fault_!"

"No, it's _yours_. _You're_ the one who controls the schedule! _You're_ the one who made me go get his things! _You're_ the-"

"STOP IT!" Niki pounded her first on the mattress before grabbing one of the pillows, standing up, and hitting it as hard as she could against the bed. When that didn't do anything, she grabbed either end and pulled as hard as she could. "Just fucking stop it! We _all_ care about Haru-chan! This is _all_ of our faults! _Quit trying to pin the blame on one person_!"

Finally throwing the pillow across the room, she slumped to her knees, hiccupping as tears made their way down her cheeks. Kotarou glared at the ground, his eyes stinging as well. Yuta sat at one of the desks, his hands grasping his forearms so hard his knuckles were white. "If he's not in class tomorrow, we'll call."

The other two nodded, neither saying anything.

Eijun woke up with a strangled yell, his arms imminently going to cover his bruised side. Turning to glare at his roommate, who was acting as though nothing had just happened, he sat up with a yawn. He hadn't gotten too much sleep the night before, too busy thinking about the talk he'd had with Haruichi.

Remembering where they'd left off, he turned to the third year getting ready. "Kuramochi-senpai, is baseball fun?"

He didn't appreciate the smack he got. "Of course it is idiot. Why else would I bother to play?"

The pitcher thought about that for a moment before asking, "Why _did_ you start to play baseball?" He quickly ducked under the arm that was headed his way, but couldn't escape the kick aimed for his stomach.

"None of your business! Now hurry up or you're going to be late for practice!" Eijun grumbled as he quickly dressed in his practice jersey, following the third year outside. He waved to Haruichi when he spotted the pink haired teen, getting a smile and a wave back.

Putting one hand up to shade his eyes, he scanned the field for a certain catcher. Spotting him talking with the coach, he took a deep breath and screamed, "MIYUKI KAZUYA! COME CATCH FOR ME!" Seeing the third year turn his way, he growled when the captain turned away again. "DON'T IGNORE ME! MIYUKI KAZUYA!"

He folded his arms and frowned, his foot tapping as he waited for the third year to finish. When the catcher finally did show up, Eijun grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the bullpen. Stepping inside, he started his stretches, hearing a groan from the third year.

"You do realize you could have stretched while waiting for me, right?"

Eijun ignored him and asked, "Do think baseball is fun?"

He heard a laugh and frowned. "Why? Having second thoughts about playing?"

"Of course not!" Eijun was a little offended by that. Baseball was his _life_.

"Then don't ask stupid questions. Come on, if you're done stretching then go ahead and warm up your shoulder with the net."

Standing up, the pitcher grumbled as he walked to the net. He wasn't done with his questions though. "Why did you start baseball?"

"Why does it matter?"

Pausing, the second year turned to Miyuki. Lowering his eyes to the ground, he muttered, "I didn't know anything about Harucchi. I don't know anything about most of my teammates." Straightening up, he looked straight at the catcher. "If I'm going to be the ace, I need to know about who I'm playing with. So stop ignoring my questions and answer me damn it!"

He fumed when all he got was an eye roll. "How noble of you." Eijun could practically _feel_ the sarcasm dripping from the catcher's words. "Look, it's not a bad thing to learn about your teammates, but you can't just force them to answer your questions. Some people _like_ to keep secrets, unlike you."

Eijun's face flushed and he went back to throwing to the net, complaining about annoying catchers. It did make him wonder if he'd been forcing Haruichi to answer questions he didn't want to last night. The pink haired teen _had_ seemed a little hesitant to answer some. His friend would tell him if he didn't want to answer though, wouldn't he?

The pitcher just didn't know anymore.


	6. Chapter 6

Haruichi opened the door to the classroom and paused, seeing three sets of sleepy glares pointed at him. Instinct had him slamming the door shut, startling Eijun who was behind him. "What's wrong Harucchi?"

The pink haired teen didn't say anything, simply turning and preparing to leave when the door slammed open again and six pairs of hands grabbed onto the small male, dragging him inside the classroom.

He grinned nervously up at his friends after he was basically shoved into a chair. He felt himself shrink a little when all three had their arms crossed in front of them, glaring down at him. He couldn't resist the urge to fidget.

"Would you be so _kind_ as to inform us _where_ you were last night?" Yuta asked softly. Haruichi flinched.

"U-Um…P-Practice?"

" _All night_?" Kotarou raised an eyebrow.

Gulping softly, Haruichi looked off to the side. "Ah….I, um…was talking t-to Eijun-kun. I kinda, um, fell asleep?"

"And you didn't call or text us because…" Niki let the sentence dangle.

"I left my phone in t-the room?"

"And? What stopped you from coming back and letting us know? Or even using the payphone?" Kotarou leaned a little closer.

"I-I forgot?"

Yuta dropped Haruichi's phone into his lap. "What have I told you about leaving your phone?"

"Um…not to?"

Niki couldn't hold her glare any longer and pulled the small teen into a tight hug. "You scared us Haru-chan. We didn't know where you were."

"We don't mind if you want to hang out with Sawamura-kun," Kotarou said, though it seemed to pain him slightly. "Just remember to take your phone with you."

Yuta sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We don't want to keep you under lock and key Haru, we just want to be able to reach you – or at least know where you are – if something comes up."

"Please don't scare us like that again," Niki whispered, pulling back. "Try to understand, we thought we knew where you were, but when we couldn't find you there…"

Haruichi nodded, feeling horrible. He hadn't meant to frighten his friends. He'd just lost track of time and then fallen asleep while talking to Eijun. Thinking of that, he asked, "Can I hang out with Eijun-kun again tonight after practice?"

"That depends," Kotarou said. "Will you bring your phone?" Haruichi nodded. "And text us if you're not coming back to the room?" Another nod. "Then I say it's fine."

"You can do what you want and hang out with whoever you want," Yuta said, "We're not trying to keep you from that. All we ask is that you have your phone with you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd need it."

"Even if you won't need it, please keep it with you." Niki squeezed his shoulder. Haruichi nodded again, his eyes on the floor. He got another hug from Niki, while Kotarou ruffled his hair and Yuta squeezed his shoulder before his friends went to their own seats.

Haruichi jumped when Eijun spoke from behind him. "They sound like your parents." The pink haired teen turned towards his friend. "Why are they so worried about where you are anyway?"

"I may have gotten lost once while I was with them," He admitted, his cheeks tinged red. "I didn't have a cellphone then, and it was getting dark. We only found each other because an officer thought I was a lost child and brought me to the station. They called my parents who called Yuta to let them know where I was."

The shorter teen huffed when his friend burst out laughing. "I-I'm sorry Harucchi! B-But they – they thought you w-were a l-lost child!"

"It's not funny Eijun-kun! They wouldn't let me out of their sight for the next week! Kotarou almost handcuffed us together the next time we went out somewhere!" That just seemed to make the pitcher laugh harder.

Eijun only stopped laughing when their teacher arrived, and even then he kept snickering throughout class. Each time he did, Haruichi huffed and sulkily jabbed at his notebook while taking notes. It wasn't his fault he was a little shorter than average height! He couldn't find it in himself to be too mad at his friend though. He was glad that they seemed to be getting along more. Not to mention Eijun had looked a little down the other day when they were talking.

When practice was done, everything was cleaned up, and Haruichi and Eijun had taken their baths and eaten, the two found themselves back on the same hill they were on last night. For a while, they just talked about random things – school work, teammates, family – before Eijun got quiet.

"Harucchi," He said softly, his eyes trained on the sky, "How long have you been thinking about quitting baseball?"

Haurichi shook his head. "I don't know exactly when Eijun-kun." He'd thought about the question for a while, but hadn't been able to pinpoint when he'd started thinking about it. He guessed it had been gradual, slowly building up since last year.

Sighing, he continued, "Maybe it was after I got here. I've been seriously considering it for the past week or two, but I don't know when the idea first came."

Eijun wasn't sure what to say. He was silent for a while before he said, "You're a really good baseball player Harucchi. _Really_ good. You always show me awesome plays, and when you're behind me, I feel like even if I let the batter hit, you'll stop it."

Shaking his head, he kept going. "But I don't want you to play if you don't have fun. I don't want you to play if it's not what you want to do." Rolling to look at his friend, he said, "I want to keep playing with you Harucchi, but I don't want to force you to stay on the team." Smiling, he said, "Besides, we can still play together even if you're not on the team. And no matter what, you'll still be my friend!"

Haruichi felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Eijun had been his first friend when he'd come to this school, and it meant a lot that the pitcher would still consider him a friend even if he weren't on the team anymore.

Smiling back, he asked, "How can I leave you with Koshien so close at hand?" Seeing the surprised look on his friend's face, he clarified, "I'll stay till the end of the season. I can't just leave in the middle of the tournament."

Eijun seemed to understand, and his smile turned a little sad. "It'll be lonely without you next year. Come practice with me sometimes alright? I still have to strike you out."

"Of course. I'll look forward to it Eijun-kun."

* * *

 **And here's the end to part 2! I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought!**

 **Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to me, here is my pres-ent~, a finished sto-ry~**


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